Keith Ellison to attend Peace Now Rabin memorial

Minnesota Attorney General, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will speak at the virtual event after AOC backed out.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will speak at an online memorial service for Yitzhak Rabin, Americans for Peace Now announced on the weekend.

Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will be one of the keynote speakers. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez canceled her appearance after she received criticism from pro-Palestinian supporters who objected to her participation.

“We’re very pleased to announce that Minnesota Attorney General @keithellison will speak at APN’s Yitzhak Rabin 25-Year Memorial Event,” Americans for Peace Now tweeted. “We honor the courageous steps he took and his legacy. We continue to hold the prospect of peace as the ultimate goal for Israelis and Palestinians.”

The virtual event being held online on October 20 will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the assassination of the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was shot and killed by right-wing activist Yigal Amir in 1995.

While in Congress, Ellison visited Israel in 2010 and toured the site of Rabin’s assassination in Tel Aviv. However, he has repeatedly come under fire for his association with Louis Farrakhan, the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam organization, and for voting against funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.

Peace Now said that House and Senate resolutions have been introduced to honor Rabin “and to reiterate support for a two-state solution.”

In 2015 Ellison co-sponsored a resolution in the House of Representatives that “commemorates the life and accomplishments of Yitzhak Rabin” and “recognizes and reiterates its continued support for the close ties and special relationship between the United States and Israel.”

Last week, the American Jewish Congress expressed disappointment in Ocasio-Cortez’s choice to pull out of the event.

“Yitzhak Rabin gave his life to the struggle for peace. He was assassinated because he was a peacemaker and we should never forget it,” the group said in a statement on their site.

“By withdrawing from this event, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has distanced herself from the principle of supporting those who seek engagement to foster peace.”